U.S. patent application number 12/306879 was filed with the patent office on 2009-08-06 for method for providing an emergency call service for voip subscribers.
This patent application is currently assigned to Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Co.KG. Invention is credited to Achim Beinroth.
Application Number | 20090196284 12/306879 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38110216 |
Filed Date | 2009-08-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090196284 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Beinroth; Achim |
August 6, 2009 |
Method for Providing an Emergency Call Service for VoIP
Subscribers
Abstract
A requirement for an emergency call is to reach the nearest
emergency call centre and to transmit information to said centre
concerning the location of the caller. However, a pre-defined
assignment of the subscriber number of the VoIP subscriber is not
necessarily given, as a VoIP subscriber can use the telephone
service from any Internet connection. To solve this problem, the
emergency call service is implemented by the local VoIP service
provider responsible in the roaming network of the VoIP
subscriber.
Inventors: |
Beinroth; Achim; (Berlin,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LERNER GREENBERG STEMER LLP
P O BOX 2480
HOLLYWOOD
FL
33022-2480
US
|
Assignee: |
Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH &
Co.KG
Munich
DE
|
Family ID: |
38110216 |
Appl. No.: |
12/306879 |
Filed: |
May 2, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
May 2, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2007/054258 |
371 Date: |
December 29, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
370/352 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2242/04 20130101;
H04L 65/1073 20130101; H04M 7/006 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/352 |
International
Class: |
H04L 12/66 20060101
H04L012/66 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 28, 2006 |
DE |
10 2006 029 716.4 |
Claims
1. A method for providing an emergency call service for VoIP
subscribers, comprising providing the emergency call service by a
locally responsible VoIP service provider in the roaming network of
the VoIP subscriber.
2. A method for providing an emergency call service for VoIP
subscribers, comprising: loading, on registration of a VoIP
subscriber, an address of an emergency call server of a local VoIP
service provider and information relating to a physical Internet
connection via which the registration is taking place, in a VoIP
client of the VoIP subscribers; placing a call the emergency call
server, based on the address, when the VoIP client recognizes a
received call number based on preconfigured list as an emergency
call number, with the call including the position information; and
accepting the received call of the VoIP client by the emergency
call server as an emergency call, and passing on to an emergency
call center which is responsible for an area of the emergency call
server.
Description
CLAIM FOR PRIORITY
[0001] This application is a national stage application of
PCT/EP2007/054258, filed May 2, 2007, which claims the benefit of
priority to German Application No. 102206029716.4, filed Jun. 28,
2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by
reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a method for providing an emergency
call server for VoIP subscribers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In the case of an emergency call, it is necessary to access
the closest and responsible emergency call center and to transmit
thereto information about the location of the caller. This is
already implemented in the landline network and in the mobile radio
networks, and will soon be required for VoIP telephony. Since a
VoIP subscriber can use the telephone service from any Internet
connection, there is no longer necessarily a predefined association
between the call number and a location. An additional problem
results from the possibility of also using the VoIP service of the
local/national provider when abroad. Even if the location of the
subscriber at the time of the emergency call were known, the home
VoIP service provider does not have the routing information in
order to allow it to access all the emergency call centers
worldwide.
[0004] A VoIP subscriber who at times is registered for the VoIP
service at a different location than his home address will be
referred to in the following text as a mobile VoIP subscriber
(mobile in this context does not mean moving).
[0005] Source-dependent routing to the emergency call center is
already possible for non-mobile VoIP subscribers. For this purpose,
the subscriber data is statically linked in the softswitch to
routing information in order to access the regionally responsible
emergency call center. The call number is transmitted to the
emergency call center, in order to locate the subscriber. There,
the address of the subscriber can be determined, analogously to the
emergency call service in the landline network, on the basis of a
database query.
[0006] The described mechanisms currently do not operate for mobile
VoIP subscribers since there is no fixed association between the
subscriber call number and position information. At the moment,
there is not yet any standardized solution for this problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] According to one embodiment of the invention, the emergency
call service for a VoIP subscriber is provided by the service
provider (SP) in the roaming network, and not by the home service
provider of the VoIP subscriber.
[0008] An exemplary implementation of the invention follows. The
local Internet service provider provides an SOS URI of a local
emergency call server (of a local SIP service provider) which can
pass on an emergency call to a national emergency call center. The
local Internet service provider also provides position information
relating to the physical Internet connection. The emergency call
service is provided by a locally responsible VoIP service provider
in the roaming network, even if the subscriber is still registered
with his home service provider.
The ISP configures an SOS URI in its network, in the exemplary form
SOS@localsipdomain, by means of which a national emergency call
center can be accessed via a national/local VoIP service provider.
By way of example, contractual relationships may exist for this
purpose between an ISP and VoIP service provider, or a VoIP SP is
appointed by a regulating authority.
[0009] The network is configured by the ISP (for example DSL
provider or IT administration in the commercial network), such that
the SOS URI is transmitted to connected VoIP clients (for example
via DHCP).
[0010] The ISP still provides position information (for example in
the form of geographic coordinates or a civilian address) which
(for example by means of DHCP) is loaded to the VoIP client. An RFC
(3825) already exists for transmission of geographic coordinates by
means of DHCP. A DSL provider can in this case, for example,
provide the address of the connection holder via the DSL port. In
commercial networks, details can be provided about the location of
the physical network port.
[0011] The VoIP client software receives and stores the position
information and the SOS URI, and has a preconfigured list with
emergency call numbers. It would likewise be feasible to
dynamically add local emergency call numbers to the list. When an
emergency call number is dialed, the dialed number is converted to
the SOS URI.
[0012] The SIP INVITE message to set up a call is then sent to the
local SIP service provider which is identified by the
"localsipdomain" in the SOS URI. The INVITE message additionally
contains the position information relating to the location of the
emergency caller. Internet drafts already exist for the SIP upgrade
required to do this.
[0013] The locally responsible VoIP service provider accepts the
emergency call of the mobile VoIP client who is not registered with
it, and passes it on to the responsible emergency call center on
the basis of the position information that is also sent. A local
VoIP SP has the necessary information on how to access an emergency
call center in its responsibility area. The VoIP client is in this
case still registered with its home service provider, where all
"normal" calls are handled.
[0014] A VoIP service provider is used for the emergency calls in
its responsibility area, irrespective of whether by its own
registered VoIP clients or by roaming VoIP clients which are not
registered with it.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The proposed concept for an emergency call service on the
roaming network makes it possible to comply with the main
requirements for an emergency call service for mobile VoIP
subscribers (position-dependent routing and transmission of the
subscriber location to the emergency call center) between different
countries, provided that the physical network access is made in the
country where the subscriber is currently located. Despite SIP
registration with his home service provider, an emergency caller
accesses a locally responsible emergency call center.
[0016] An exemplary emergency call scenario according to the
invention is described below.
[0017] A VoIP subscriber registers for an SIP telephone service
with his home VoIP service provider via an external Internet
connection (abroad).
[0018] The VoIP client receives from the ISP of the external
Internet connection the SOS URI (hosted by the VoIP SP in the
roaming network) and the position information relating to the
location of the network connection, and stores these
internally.
[0019] The subscriber dials an emergency call.
[0020] The VoIP client identifies the emergency call number on the
basis of a preconfigured list, and replaces this by the SOS URI in
the form "SOS@localsipdomain".
[0021] A call is set up to the SOS URI and the position information
is also signaled.
[0022] This service provider, accessed using the SOS URI, accepts
the emergency call from a non-registered client and carries out the
further routing to the correct emergency call center in its
responsibility area.
[0023] The received position information is used as information for
routing. Furthermore, the position information is made available to
the emergency call center. This is done either by direct signaling
of the information or by access to a temporary database via the
call number of the emergency caller as a key.
* * * * *